Electrical connectors are known which have a plurality of terminals disposed in a dielectric housing and which are terminated to a respective plurality of conductor wires, and the housing then secured within a protective shell. In one such connector the terminals are disposed in a single row within a wafer-like dielectric housing or module and extend rearwardly from the housing, to conclude in termination sections comprising shallow channels termed solder tails. The module includes cylindrical portions extending rearwardly to surround the terminals forwardly of the solder tails. When the conductor wires are prepared to be terminated to the solder tails, individual sleeve-like solder preforms encased within respective longer sleeves of heat recoverable or heat shrink tubing are placed over the rearwardly extending terminal portions so that the solder preforms surround the solder tails; the stripped wire ends are then inserted into the heat recoverable tubing sleeves and into the solder preforms surrounding the solder tails. The assembly is then subjected to the application of thermal energy to melt the solder which then flows around the stripped wire ends within the solder tails and upon cooling forms respective solder joints joining the conductor wires to the terminals; and simultaneously the heat recoverable tubing is heated above a threshold temperature at which the tubing shrinks in diameter until it lies adjacent and tightly against surfaces of the solder tails and the wire termination therewithin, against a portion of the insulated conductor wire extending rearwardly therefrom, and against a portion of the terminal extending forwardly therefrom to the rearward housing surface covering the exposed metal surfaces. Within forward and rearward ends of the tubing are located short sleeve-like preforms of fusible sealant material which will shrink and also tackify upon heating to bond and seal to the insulation of the wire, and to the cylindrical housing portions therewithin and to bond to the surrounding heat recoverable tubing; the termination is thus sealed.
The module thus joined to the conductor wires is then placed within a module-receiving cavity of a protective shell such as a metal shell and is held therein by one or more spring clips, and a pair of such modules may be simultaneously retained together in the same shell by respective spring clips mounted along opposing inside shell surfaces. The spring clips permit removal of the one or two modules if desired but otherwise secure the one or two modules within the shell and against axial movement therewithin during handling, mating and unmating of the connector with a mating connector. The terminals within the one or two modules include contact sections extending forwardly to be exposed along a mating face to be electrically connected with corresponding contact sections of terminals of a mating connector.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,394 particular spring clips are disclosed which include housing-engaging legs extending in a cantilevered fashion forwardly and inwardly from upper and lower side walls of a module-receiving cavity, to free ends which latch behind ribs of a pair of modules inserted into the cavity. The clips extend across the width of the module-receiving cavity and include cavity-wide mounting sections which are inserted outwardly through transverse slots in the upper and lower shell walls and are disposed in recesses extending rearwardly along outwardly facing surfaces of the shell walls. At each lateral end of each clip are legs extending forwardly along inside surfaces of the shell wall into recesses to maintain the clip in position after insertion. Another module-receiving shell with a system of retention clips securable therewithin, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,130.
It is desired to provide a means for assuredly and simply mounting a module-retaining clip within a module-receiving cavity of a protective shell of a connector.